The present invention relates generally to the field of firearms and more particularly to the field of strikers.
Many variables affect the accuracy of a marksman using a firearm. One critical variable that can have a drastic impact upon accuracy is "lock-time". Lock-time is a measure of the delay between the time that the trigger of a firearm is pulled and the corresponding explosion of a cartridge that propels a projectile. It is known that decreases in lock-time result in increases in accuracy. This relationship can be explained, for example, by the fact that a marksman will typically pull the trigger of the firearm at an instant when that firearm is properly aimed at a target. The greater the amount of time between the pulling of the trigger and the explosion of the cartridge, the more likely it is that circumstances will occur that will cause the aim of the firearm to be altered prior to the explosion of the cartridge. One circumstance that obviously affects the aim of a manually held firearm during the lock-time is movement of the firearm, and manually held firearms are, to at least some extent, always moving. Whether the amount of the movement is large or small, it will have some impact upon accuracy. Of course larger movements, such as when a marksman instinctively "flinches" in anticipation of the recoil of the firearm, will have a greater detrimental impact upon accuracy.
The lock-time is, for example, a function of the mass of a striker and the spring constant of a spring that propels the striker in response to the pulling of the trigger. The striker is typically propelled such that it strikes a cartridge in a manner that causes the cartridge to explode, whereby a projectile is propelled from the cartridge and subsequently the firearm. Strikers include, but are not limited to, firing pins and projections on the hammers of hammer-fired firearms. As discussed above, it is movement that occurs during the lock-time that causes decreases in accuracy, and another example of detrimental movements that occur during lock-time are vibrations that occur when the firing pin impacts the cartridge. This vibrating also makes it difficult for a marksman to visually aim the firearm. The vibrating disturbs the marksman's "sight picture" by virtue of the fact that the vibrating causes the firearm to move as the marksman is trying to keep firearm aimed at the target.
Several steps have been taken in the past in an effort to decrease the lock-time and vibrations that disturb the "sight picture". For example, lock-time has been decreased by increasing the spring constant of the striker propelling spring in a rifle. However, such increasing of the spring constant can have the effects of increasing the aforementioned vibrations and increasing the force that is required for pulling the trigger. Additionally, low density materials, such as titanium, have been used in the manufacture of firing pins in an effort to reduce their mass and thereby decrease lock-time. Reductions in mass also reduce the inaccuracy associated with vibrations that disturb the "sight picture", which vibrations are caused when the firing pin impacts against a cartridge. Additionally, material has been removed from the hammers of hammer-fired firearms to decrease lock-time and vibrations.
An exemplary striker, in the form of a prior art firing pin, is disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,539,889; 4,825,744; and 4,893,546. The exemplary prior art firing pin is constructed of steel, and is elongated and defines an elongated axis. The exemplary prior art firing pin extends axially and includes an axially extending tip at the firing pin front and a radially extending protrusion at the pin rear. The exemplary prior art firing pin further includes an axially extending external surface, and the firing pin defines a cavity that is accessible at the external surface proximate to pin front. This cavity is defined for the purpose of receiving "safety-related components" of the firearm that the exemplary prior art firing pin is installed in. The "safety-related components" enable and disable a "safety feature" of the firearm. The "safety feature" precludes the firing of the firearm when enabled.